Slicing machine with detachable disc blade



p il 5, 1960 E. s. ERICKSON 2,931,407

SLICING MACHINE WITH DETBCHABLE DISC BLADE Filed Dec. 29, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ERNEST S ERlCKSON,

t F\G.3 FlGA ATTORNEY April 5, 1960 E. s. ERICKSON 2,931,407

SLICING MACHINE WITH DETACHABLE DISC BLADE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 29, 1958 INVENTOR ERNEST S. ERICKSON,

W BY

ATTORNEY SLICING MACHINE WITH DETACHABLE DISC BLADE Ernest S. Erickson, Flushing, N.Y.,

Slicing Machine (10., Inc., Walden, of New York assignor to General N.Y., a corporation The present invention relates to slicing machines whose cutting member is a rotatably mounted disc blade, and more particularly to novel improvements in construction which make the blade easily detachable for cleaning and replacement.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved slicing machine affording release of the blade without touching the blade by hand, that is, release is accomplished by simple manipulation of an element which is away from the blade. The blade is then easily slidable from off its mounting, because upon being released, it is loose.

. Another object thereof is to provide an improved and novel'releasable blade structure for slicing machines of the character set forth, affording easy remounting of the blade onto the machine without touching any part of the blade near its sharpened periphery.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a novel and improved detachable blade structure for slicing machines, which is simple in construction, reasonable in cost, easy to mount and detach and efiicient in carrying out the purposes for which it is designed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this disclosure proceeds.

For the practice of this invention, one form it may assume is to have the disc blade with its concentrically afiixed gear provided with a round hub or plug extending centrally from gear side. The extending end of said plug is provided with a peripheral annular groove. This end of the plug is rotatably removably fitted into a socket in the wall of the blade housing or shield which is part of the frame of the machine. This socket has an internal annular groove which registers with the groove in the plug. An open resilient wire the groove in the plug. At each end of such open wire loop there is an integral lateral extension; such extensions diverging from each other away from the loop portion of the wire and all parts of said wire piece being coplanar.

There. is a member between and in contact with said divergent extensions. Upon relative movement of said member and the wire so that said member causes the spreading apart of said extensions, the loop will open and thus release the plug, because the opened loop will leave the annular groove in the plug and enter the annular groove in the socket wall. An operating member which is accessible at a region away from the periphery of the blade, is shiftable to cause the mentioned relative movement whereby the blade is made loose for removal from the machine. Said member in its relative movement towards the loop, acts as a wedge to spread said extension elements apart. The resilience of the loop acts to restore the separation existing between said extension elements initially, upon release of hold on the operating member. Said loop may be moved towards said Wedge-acting membet, or as will be shown in a second embodiment, the wedge is that which is moved by the operating member.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this loop resides within and engages.

nite States Patentfi .specification, similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary front view of a food slicing machine embodying the teachings of this invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged section taken at lines 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is part of Fig. 2, and gear and the plug which are associated as a unitary structure, removed from the machine.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged rear view of the blade housing which is part of or house the blade. It is the frame and serves to guard this component that the blade is mounted on for rotation. In fact, it is the plug that is actually mounted on this frame member.

Fig. 5 is a side view of the operating member which when manually shifted, effects blade release.

Fig. 6 is a view like Fig. 4, but showing a modified embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the socket structure used in the blade housing of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the retaining ring which completes said socket structure.

In the drawings, I have shown preferred embodiments of this invention as applied to a food slicing machine indicated generally by the numeral 15, which is of the type wherein a food carriage 16 is slidable to and fro past the cutting edge of a revolvable disc blade 17 which is mounted on a housing member 18, in advance of which blade is the gage plate 19. Although this machine is shown to be manually operated by means of the crank handle 20, this invention is equally applicable to motordriven blades. For examples, a manually operated slicer is shown in Patent No. 2,807,301 and a motor-driven one is shown in Design Patent No. 117,536.

The disc blade 17 is unitary with its drive gear 21; said gear being concentrically fixed on one face of said blade. This unitary structure has a central hole in the wall of which is an internal annular channel 22. A round plug 23, rotatably fitted in such central hole, has a thin flange 23' residing in said annular channel 22; the thickness of said flange being about half the width of said channel. The said plug projects outwardly as if a hub of the gear and is flush at its other end with the unobstructed other surface of the blade when the said flange 23 contacts that wall of said channel 22 which is farthest away from the blade face 17'. In fact, said plug 23 always extends outwardly of the gear 21, to be set into a socket 24 in the bladecovering face of the housing member 18. Though both said plug and socket are round, it is intended that the blade shall rotate on said plug, hence, engaging stops 13 and 14, hold the plug 23 still. This socket, accomplished with the aid of the retainer ring 26, is formed in its wall with an internal annular groove 27 which registers with an external annular groove 28 in the projecting end portion of the plug 23, when the face end 23" of said plug is flush with the blade face 17; such face of the blade being exposed in the assembled machine.

It is practical that the housing member 18 be machined to have a counterbored socket 24, so that upon assembly with the ring 26, the annular groove 27 is formed. This socket is in a boss 29 which has parts cut away to provide the pads indicated as 30, 31, 32 in Fig. 4, or as shown in Fig. 6, where the pads are denoted as 30', 30 and 32.

Referring now to Fig. 4, there is the resilient wire member indicated generally by the numeral 33, all of whose parts are coplanar. It consists essentially of a sort of open loop of U-shaped form, whose distal ends 34, 35 extend in divergent relation away from the central bend 36. That portion of each arm of the U-shape which extends from the bend is straight and comparatively near each other, while that portion 37 of each of said arms which is next to said divergent ends, extend shows the blade, its drive convexedly outwardly to conform with and normally set in opposite sections of the external annular groove 28 'in the plug 23, while said divergent distal ends 34,- 35

contact the opposite corners of the pad element 31., The ring 26 is preferably formed with a neck 38 with a flange 38' having the holes 39" through which the closely spaced portionsof the wire are set to slide.

The shank of a headed pin 39 is slidably mounted through the rim flange 49*- of the blade housing member 18 and is provided with a transverse slot 41 in which the bend 3.6 of thewire piece 33 sets. It is evident that upon pushing said headed pin downward in Fig. 4, the

- Upon release of this button, its shank and the wire piece will spring back to initial position.

Referring now to Fig. 6, there is the modified con-.

struction' employing the wire piece designated generally by the numeral 40, all of whose parts are coplanar. It consists essentially of an open loop 41 whose distal ends 41' are bent to diverge from said loop. To position such loop so as not to turn, it has the outward bends 42, 43 which set respectively in the spaces between the pads 30, 31 and 32; the divergent distal ends of said Wire piece 40 being between the pads 30', 32 and spaced therefrom. Centrally between said distal ends, there is a circular pad or pin 42.

The shank of a headed pin 43 is slidably mounted through the rim flange 40' of the blade housing member 18' and is provided with a depending stifi wire piece 44 whose lower end is formed into an enlarged loop 45 which is positioned about the pin 42. Such loop 45 contacts both of the distal end portions 41 of the wire piece 40 and upon downward movement of the button 43' it is evident that said loop 45, acting as a loop-opening element, will in wedge fashion open the loop 41, by causforth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the specific descri tion herein to indicate the scopeof this invention.

I claim: a

1. In a slicing machine, a disc blade member, a frame having a socket whose opening faces one surface of the blade member, a plug member removably fitted in said socket, and having an annular peripheral groove in the portion thereof which is within the socket; the wall of said socket having an annular groove in registry with. the groove in the plug member; said blade member being" concentrically mounted on said plug member; at least one of said members being rotatably mounted, an open loop element of resilient material encircling said plug member and normally positioned within the annular groove in said plug member, a loop-opening element carried on the frame, contacted by the distalend portions of theresilient element; said end portions being in angular relation; said loop-opening element being between said portions, means extending from one of said elements to the exterior of the frame, having an operating piece accessible away from the blade; said one element and said operating piece being associated to move together on theframe and means on the frame restraining the'other of ing the latters arms to spread apart, thereby releasing the plug for removal with the blade it carries. ,Upon release of this button, its shank and the wire pieces 40 and 44 will resume their initial position as shown in Fig. 6.

To remount the blade on the machine, the plug 23 is pushed into the socket 24 whereupon it will force the open loop to expand and enter the groove 27, but upon registry of the. grooves 27 and 28, the stressed loop will contract and enter the groove 28, thus securing the blade 17 in operative position.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. it is therefore intended and desired that the embodiments shown herein shall be deemed merely illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set said elements from movement along with the afore mentioned one element which is associated with said operating piece, whereupon shifting said operating'piece'in a predetermined direction, said loop will be opened by wedge action of the element contacting said divergent portions, on said portions and said loop will enter theannular groove in the socket wall, thereby releasing the plug member for removal from said socket.

2. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said} loop-opening element is fixed on the frame and wherein said means having the operating piece is associated with the loop portion of the resilient element, whereupon shifting said operating piece, it will movesaid resilient element towards said loop-opening element.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, including means holding the loop element from movement towards the loop-opening element and wherein said loop-opening element moves with said operating piece.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the blade member is rotatably mounted on the plug member and including means on said plug member and the frame, cooperating to hold said plug member at rest.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim I, wherein said operating piece is near the blade but beyond the pe'riph ery of said blade. i

6. An apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein the resilient element is made of a piece of wire; all parts of such element being coplanar.

References Cited in the file of this patent. 

